When Captain Thompson returned to the bridge he walked to the forward observation port and watched the Admiralâ€ ™ s shuttle pass by. â€œComputer, remove all traces of Admiral Richardsâ€ ¦ â€ all of Dreadnoughtâ€ ™ s phasers fired simultaneously at the shuttle, vaporizing it instantly in an explosion of light and ion gas, â€œâ€ ¦ fromâ€ ¦ theâ€ ¦ logs. â€

According to PopSci, the telescope picked up the light signature of both hydrogen and oxygen which are coming together as liquid water before vaporizing near the massive jets of gas that spew from the the star's poles.

De-orbiting is not a quick process, though, and while the work of the ERS-2 crew is currently scheduled to end in September 2011, the satellite will continue its slow and steady descent for an additional 10-14 years, eventually vaporizing in Earth's atmosphere.